Personal Art Blog

Sharing the lessons I teach at the Artist Guild and the personal discoveries in my art.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Josefina's Back Door

Josefina's Back Door.

6x8in oil on canvas panel. 100.

In the historic town of Mesilla, New Mexico, there is an old adobe

of great interest - especially for local artists.
The original owner was named Josefina
and the name has stuck.
The front gate is called Josefina's Gate and it is an icon.
Painted and photographed hundreds of times by many artists as well as tourists.
In recent years it has opened up as a restaurant with a lovely
patio full of character and typical New Mexican details.
The fence shown is very typical. It is called a Coyote Fence.
It is made from tree branches and I am sure as the name suggests,
it was to keep the coyote's out! Not the rattlesnakes though, they get past anything!

Below is the famous front gate

The plein air groups from Las Cruces and El Paso met at
Josefina's this morning to paint and the truck owner kindly
moved it out of the way.
By that time I had already set up at the back.

Artist Note.

I painted the house, windows and door first and then painted
the fence over them. I used a shader on its tip/edge.
Starting at the bottom I would lift the brush upwards and stop...
then lift up again, stop, repeat, to create the uneven shapes of the branches.
If I had done one swift stroke they would have looked too even.
I changed colors slightly, cooler in the shade and warmer/lighter in the sun,
but some of the branches were very grey and I painted them as such..

I am a painter living in Las Cruces, NM. After many years as an illustrator I turned to fine art to develop my own artistic voice. I currently teach talented and enthusiastic artists in oil, acrylic and egg tempera painting. I am also a member of the Artist Guild of Southern New Mexico.

My first thought when I saw this was that I want to go to Josefina's house, knock on the door, and be invited into her kitchen for homemade enchiladas. Seems I was spot on since it's a restaurant. Lovely painting as usual.

Thank you for your kind words about my mom...it helps to know the stories of others who have experienced something similar.

I love that you are taking the time to comment and thank you for it. I am sure other readers will enjoy them too. If you cannot comment through this format then email me at juliefordoliver@gmail.comCheers,Julie